Shades of Black I: In Darkness Cast by Jonathan ShuergerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Shades of Black caught me by surprise. I’m not always a big “swords and sorcery” gal but every once in a while, an adventure will sweep me up in a rush of pages that I can’t put down till I know how it ends. Shuerger weaves a tale of a broken world with flawed people, plagued by some seriously sinister creeps and monsters. And things don’t always turn out how you’d expect.
Although of course, we root for Gideon in his quest to be a hero, my favorite character is the antihero Ashkelon. He stole the show with his wonderful lines of dialogue, incredible abilities, and searing judgements of humanity’s flaws—think Hans Gruber meets Sesshomaru.
The story had good character development, a satisfying conclusion, and lots of vivid action, like something of a mashup between old horror movies, Godzilla, and Quentin Tarantino.
I can’t wait for book 2!
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If you like Jonathan Shuerger’s style, I also recommend his book, The Excorcism of Frosty the Snowman. For those who might enjoy a darker version of the classic Christmas characters. ^_^
Here’s a link to his website where you can find out more about him and his books: https://creativegrumbles.com/
